Mistaken
by Sophia24
Summary: Bella blames herself for something that isn't her fault. One-shot. AH, AU. Fluff. better than its sounds...apparently


Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight

Authors note: This is just a completely random one-shot I made up so I hope you enjoy it.

A big thanks to my beta TRDancer for looking this over and helping with my mistakes. :D

Mistaken

**Bella's POV**

This is all my fault. He was hurt and it was because of me. If I had been more careful and been there with him this wouldn't have happened. I felt like I was being crushed into the bottom of the shower cubical by the guilt that was hanging over me. The sprays of water had long gone cold as I sat shivering, hugging my legs close to my body and resting my chin on my knees.

The constant tugging at my heart brought tears of guilt to my eyes. How could I have been so stupid? Why hadn't I been there with him? None of this would have happened if I had been more responsible, if I had looked after him better.

A knock on the door echoed around the bathroom, but I ignored it, keeping my eyes fixed on the white tiles across from me. "Bella?" Edward's voice called out, but I didn't answer, I couldn't. I couldn't bear to think about what he would say to me, how he would look at me. He wouldn't be angry, I knew that. But I feared the disappointment he was sure to have in his eyes. Why wouldn't he? I was a terrible person.

"Bella, love?" The white wooden door opened slowly and I heard Edwards's footsteps on the tiled bathroom floor, just barely loud enough for me to hear above the spray of the shower. I tucked my legs closer to my body, trying to make myself seem as small as possible so maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't see me. It was a ridiculous hope.

"Are you alright?" The panic in his voice became apparent as he approached the shower. I turned my head slightly to see his blurred form approaching the glass door of the shower. I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine, that I needed a bit of time to myself, that he could go back outside to whatever he was doing before so I wouldn't have to face him, but no sound came out. I snapped my mouth shut as he pulled open the shower door and buried my head in my knees so I couldn't see the emotion on his face, the disappointment that was surely present on his face.

I heard him turn the shower off and the cold water stopped hitting against my back as my body continued to shiver. "Oh, Bella." His voice was soft, barely a whisper and filled with such tenderness it brought a fresh round of tears to my eyes.

I chanced a glance up at him, unable to avoid looking at him for much longer. There was no disappointment in his eyes like I had expected, only concern. He crouched down beside me, scooping me up in his arms and cradling me to his chest as he lifted me out of the shower.

He gently set me on my feet and wrapped a towel tightly around me, hugging me close to his body. It was only now that I realised how cold I had been sitting under the freezing cold jets of water. I leaned into his warm embrace, comforted by the way he held me, by the lack of any negative emotion on his angelic features. I had no idea how he could behave this nicely towards me after what I had done.

"Bella, don't do that again. You could have made yourself ill," he murmured against the top of my head as his hands rubbed my arms in an attempt to warm me up. I nodded mutely and pulled myself closer to him, clinging desperately to his—now damp—shirt.

I sniffled and buried my face in his chest as I tried to keep my tears at bay. It was a fruitless attempt and they fell anyway, soaking the front of his shirt even more than I already had. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself; it wasn't your fault," he said as he pressed his lips against my forehead and I shook my head in response. How could he say it wasn't my fault? Of course it was. If I had been more careful and kept a better eye on him nothing would have happened.

"Bella, it was inevitable," Edward said firmly but continued as I disagreed with him again. "Our son is so clumsy it would have been impossible for it not to have happened. I'm afraid he inherited that bad luck from you," He teased and pulled away enough for me to be forced to look into his deep green eyes. "If this hadn't happened he would have tripped over his own feet or ran head first into the patio doors. Again." He grinned, trying to tempt me to smile with him. I didn't.

The fact of the matter was; it was my fault. I had been the one looking after Danny, our son. He was my responsibility and he got hurt. How could it not be my fault?

"No, Edward, it was my fault," I insisted, my voice cracking as more tears began to leak from my eyes.

"Bella." He said warningly as the grin slipped off his face. His expression hardened and I knew he was getting irritated that I kept blaming myself but it _was_ true; it _was_ my fault. I stubbornly refused to give in, to even look away from him, and Edward, being as hard-headed as me, did the same, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

A shudder rippled through me as my teeth began to chatter with the cold. Edward let out a soft sigh, his features softening and he offered me a small smile. "You should get dressed. I'll get you some clothes and we can talk about this later, ok?" I nodded, the cold hitting me full blast when Edward and his warmth disappeared into the bedroom.

He came back a few moments later, offering me a pile of warm clothes and flashed me his adorable crooked grin. "You might want to be quick about it. I can hear Chrissy coming." Edward chuckled, placing a kiss on my forehead. Christiana, or Chrissy as she preferred to be called, was our youngest. You could always manage to hear her coming by the amount of noise she made. The thundering that rumbled through the house was an example of how loud she was as she climbed the stairs, stomping up them on her hands and feet.

"Not that I'm complaining, but you might scare our children if they see you walking around naked." Edward grinned at me before disappearing behind the door. A small smile pulled at the corners of my lips but was dragged down by the heavy feeling of guilt settling in my chest.

I dressed quickly, not bothering to do anything with my hair except run a brush through it, and trying to make sure I didn't look like I had been crying, hoping Chrissy wouldn't see that I was upset. I stepped into the bedroom just in time to see Chrissy barging through the door and hurling herself at me.

"Momma!" The three year old squealed and hugged my leg tightly, resting her chin on my shin so she could look up at me. A frown creased her brow and concern filled her bright green eyes as she gazed up at me. "Momma, you sad?" Her bottom lip jutted out and I sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Chrissy into my lap.

The bed sank beside me as Edward sat down and he draped his arm across my shoulders, tucking me into his side. "I'm fine, darling. I'm just worried about your brother, that's all," I reassured her and as soon as I mentioned her brother, her eyes lit up and a grin spread across her face.

"Momma, I want blue arms. Danny has blue arms; can I have blue arms too? Pwease?" She pouted and widened her eyes at me.

"Chrissy, you don't want blue arms." Edward chuckled and mussed up her short, dark brown curls.

"I do so," she huffed and crossed her arms, her small scowl directed at Edward. The reason Danny had blue arms was my fault. No, he didn't get attacked by the paint we were going to use to redecorate his room, I would have preferred if he had.

Edward had been out to buy groceries while I volunteered to stay at home and watch the children on this unusually sunny Saturday in Forks. They were both playing, running around outside or taking turns on the single swing we had in our back garden. Chrissy had managed to trip and skin her knees even after I warned her not to run on the concrete slabs of the patio. I had taken her inside to clean her up and I had only been gone a couple of minutes before I heard Danny howling outside. He had been on the swing, seeing how high he could go and cleverly decided to jump off without thinking it through properly. Edward had returned shortly after and we had taken him to hospital to find out he had broken one wrist and fractured the other which resulted in him getting a cast on each arm. He just so happened to pick the colour blue for the casts.

It was my fault though. If I had only told him to get off the swing while I was tending to Chrissy, or if I had even told her to sit outside while I cleaned her wounds then I would have been able to watch over Danny and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. It was my fault our son had ended up with two broken wrists and nothing Edward could say would change my mind on the matter.

"Mom! Dad!" Danny appeared in the doorway, his cheeks flushed from running up the stairs and his brown eyes bright with excitement. "Look what I can do!" He lifted his arms, both encased in casts, and his them together, making a knocking sound. "It doesn't even hurt." He grinned, a grin so similar to his father's it was unbelievable. When we had gone to the hospital it had been Edward's father, Carlisle, that had treated Danny and he had managed to sneak him a lolly. Danny was almost buzzing with energy as he stood grinning in the doorway. He didn't do well on sugar. It made him more than a little hyper.

"This is great!" If possible his smile widened as he ran over to us. "I can get my friends to draw pictures on them _and_ I won't be able to write anything." My six-year-old smiled happily, his brown locks flopped down into his face, and he held up his hands that were half covered by the cast to prove his point.

Chrissy scrambled off my lap and onto Edward's as she tried to climb him to sit on his shoulders. With Edward's help she was happily situated on his shoulders and gave his hair a sharp tug. "Up Daddy, stand up," she demanded and Edward winced when she pulled too hard.

"Chrissy, be gentle," I reminded her and she instantly loosened her hold on Edward's hair, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

"Sorry, Daddy." She hugged his head before sitting back up, resting her hands on top of his head. "Now, stand up, pwease." I rolled my eyes at her insistence but a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I watched my husband and daughter leave the room.

I lifted Danny up onto the bed beside me and he vibrated with energy as he tried to sit still. "Danny..." I said softly and I could feel the tears forming in my eyes, "...I'm sorry. It's my fault you're hurt." I gathered him in my arms, hugging him to me.

He struggled to loosen my tight grip, looking up at me with eyes identical to mine. "Mom, it wasn't your fault. I jumped off the swing. 'Sides, I gotted off school today. And I won't have to write t'morrow. This is even better than that time when I ran into the slidy glass doors and had to stay in the hopsical _all _night. That was fun," He said happily, grinning at me as he swung his legs back and forth.

"OK, darling." I sighed and leaned my chin on the top of his head. True, I hadn't forgiven myself but I would make sure it never happened again—although with Danny it was never a certainty that something bad wouldn't happen—and I would make it up to him, and Chrissy, and Edward. I wouldn't let any of them get hurt if I could stop it. I'd protect my family. From now until eternity.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review!


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